1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nail care or finger care tool and nail care or finger care tool set used for removal of nail finish or care for nails and fingers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gel nails have become popular in recent years as a new type of nail finish, which has been traditionally used for coloring nails, and nail finishes of soft gel type have also been often used.
This soft gel can be removed with a solution and can be applied without shaving the nail.
Soft gel uses a material having minimum burdens on the base nail, and this type of nail finish also lasts for a long period of 3 to 5 weeks. Accordingly, it is suitable for people who want to reinforce weak nails, those who suffer from peeling nails, or whose nails crack easily. Also, soft gel is easy to apply due to high viscosity and it hardens rapidly under UV light, and thus can be applied quickly.
Other favorable properties of soft gel are that it has no smell, its color lasts for a long period, and it does not peel easily because of its flexibility.
Nail polish remover, for example, is used to remove soft gel. The specific method to use this nail polish remover is as follows. First, only the surface of soft gel is filed to add small scratches to the surface of soft gel so that nail polish remover can be absorbed easily.
Next, a cotton ball, etc., moistened with soft gel nail polish remover is placed on the nail and then a piece of aluminum foil, etc., is wrapped around it to let nail polish remover penetrate into the soft gel. After 10 to 15 minutes or so, soft gel becomes soft and can be removed.
Soft gel is difficult to remove by using ethanol, and normally nail polish remover containing acetone is used and, as explained above, a cotton ball moistened with nail polish remover must remain in contact with the surface of soft gel for at least 10 minutes before soft gel can be removed. However, acetone in nail polish remover contacts the base nail or skin around the nail, causing the surface of the nail or skin to turn white or rough.
In addition, even if the nail is wrapped with aluminum foil, etc., acetone or other organic solvent contained in nail polish remover still volatilizes and a foul smell, which is more irritating than the traditional smell of ethanol, is released into the room through the gaps between the aluminum foil and finger. Furthermore, a member to secure the aluminum foil around the finger must be put on each finger, and to make nail polish remover attach to the surface of soft gel, the aluminum foil must be retained at the finger tip for the required period of 10 to 15 minutes in such a way that the fingers are kept apart from each other to prevent these securing members from contacting each other.
As described in Patent Literature 1, a technique to use an auxiliary nail polish removal tool to secure cotton balls on the surface of nails, in between fingertips, is known, for the purpose of keeping these cotton balls moistened with nail polish remover on the fingertips. If such auxiliary nail polish removal tool is used, however, the user cannot use the fingers freely while the auxiliary nail removal tool is in use as the fingertips are immobilized by the tool.
Patent Literature 2 describes a portable manicure removal cotton comprised of a sealed bag that sandwiches and secures a part of a cotton ball, etc., moistened with nail polish remover. However, this method also requires a wide bag to be put on the fingertip and thus while the bags are on the fingers, the user cannot use the fingers freely, just as when the auxiliary nail removal tool described in Patent Literature 1 is used, because the bags contact each other.
Further, Patent Literature 3 describes a bag having a shape similar to the one described in Patent Literature 2, as well as an artificial nail resin softening system comprised of the bag having a solvent absorbing body attached along the entire periphery of the bag, while Patent Literature 4 describes a manicure removal tool comprised of a cylindrical case whose inner surface is lined with a cotton or other impregnation material moistened with manicure removal agent. However, the inventions described in Patent Literatures 3 and 4 allow solvent or impregnated agent to contact, while each invention is in use, not only the nail but also the skin around the fingertip other than the nail, often stripping natural oil from the skin and making it white or rough.
Although oil or cream is applied to the nail to care for the roughened nail, it is difficult to perform any tasks that require to use fingers while waiting for the applied oil or cream to penetrate fully into the nail.
As for the practice of applying cream to care for the roughened finger, a sufficient amount of cream must be applied to ensure sufficient care, but it usually means the fingertip becomes sticky due to a large amount of cream. Among the means for caring fingers without applying cream, a glove having a fine-grain active layer formed on the inside is known, as described in Patent Literature 5.